The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a local woman on Monday for cheating at least 10 residents out of thousands of patacas by claiming to run an investment scheme with a high rate of return, PJ spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said during a special press conference yesterday.
According to Lei, the 10 victims were cheated out of a total of 510,000 patacas, adding that the police believe there were another 20 victims.
The suspect persuaded the victims to put money into the scheme for the sale of health products and investments in virtual currency, and she claimed that the investors could get a high rate of return six to eight months after joining the scheme, according to Lei, who said that another two people were involved in the scheme.
Lei identified the suspect as a 30-year-old surnamed Pang who told the police that she is unemployed.
According to Lei, the Judiciary Police received separate reports from the 10 victims between January last year and last month that they had been defrauded by the suspect. All the 10 male and female victims are locals, aged between 25 and 30. Each of them told the police that they got to know the suspect on the Internet or after being introduced to her by friends.
In addition to the 10 victims who had reported the fraud to the police, the police have also received multiple anonymous emails during the period about the fraud, according to Lei.
The 10 victims told the police that Pang briefed potential investors about the scheme on the premises of a renovation company in a shopping centre in Toi San district, Lei said.
The purported scheme included the research and development (R&D) and sale of pulse wristwatches and the investment in virtual currency. The suspect told her prospective victims that the watches could assess and monitor the health of people using the products and that the watches were valuable products so that the investors could earn a lot of money by buying the products and then reselling them, according to Lei.
Evidence, including desktops, laptops and cash, seized from the suspect’s office is displayed in a pressroom of the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters in Zape yesterday.
PJ officers escort the hooded fraud suspect to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters yesterday. Photos: Iong Tat Choi
